


I'll Be Here Waiting

by meesherbeans



Series: Always Waiting for You [2]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Declarations Of Love, F/M, Fade to Black, Fluff, One Shot, Partial Nudity, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 11:40:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9321983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meesherbeans/pseuds/meesherbeans
Summary: Meila receives a letter from Theron the day after she returns from her mysterious disappearance on Odessen, and decides to wake him up to discuss it.





	

 

>   _It took me a long time to hit send on this one, but I guess you already know I'm not great at this._
> 
> _You and me, we're used to danger. I've been trained to roll with the punches. I used to think nothing could faze me, but when you vanished without a trace... I couldn't stop pacing. I thought Lana was going to strap me into a chair to keep me still. I didn't know where you were, and I couldn't take it._
> 
> _You're the commander of the Alliance; I know what that means. You have a long fight ahead of you. Someday you might disappear on me again, somewhere I can't follow. Just know I'll be here waiting for you._
> 
> _Always._

Meila glanced around the cantina, making sure no one was trying to catch her attention; it was early enough that the normally busy bar was eerily empty. Being alone in her corner, the Mirialan felt comfortable enough to reach and touch below her left collar bone, feeling her heart beating faster.

For someone who claimed he was "not great" at writing letters, Theron always somehow managed to say just the right things to sweep her away. She took a slow, deep breath before standing up to look out the cantina's window. It was early enough that even Theron wouldn't have left their room yet – the sky had barely begun to show the signs of its impending sunrise. Meila tucked her personal datapad in the crook of her arm and quietly began to make her way toward the turbolift.

It had been a good half galactic year since Meila took over command of the Alliance, and despite the numerous missions they had both headed up in that time, she and Theron had somehow managed to carve out enough personal time to really get to know each other. Most of it, if she were completely honest, was thanks to trading precious sleep for pillow talk. As she pressed the button for the turbolift, she smiled to herself: every extra cup of stimcaf they downed in compensation was worth it.

The doors slid open and Shae stood in front of her. "Up all night again? I'm pretty sure even Jedi need sleep once in a while."

"We do. I'm about to get some sleep now." Meila gave her friend a warm smile. For all the Mandalorian's bluster and battle fury, Shae Vizla was a kind and generous woman when you got to know her.

She stumbled backward a bit as Shae shoved her shoulder playfully. "C'mon now, Danos. You're not fooling anyone. I know your boy's still in there. Get _some_ sleep, commander."

Meila blushed and waved the grinning woman away as she stepped into the lift. It still felt weird to openly be the Alliance commander and the Jedi Battlemaster yet so obviously be in a romantic relationship. They weren't _overt_ about it or anything – there _was_ something to be said for professionalism – but they didn't exactly hide their glances in the cantina or the fact that they clearly retired to the same room each night.

Well, like Theron had said in his letter: she's the commander of the Alliance. They knew what they were getting into. They would inevitably worry about and do all they could to protect or save each other, but they were both adults in dangerous, powerful positions. It would be what it would be, and she appreciated every moment spent with him for what it was. She knocked on the door four times and then quietly let herself into their pitch-black room.

Theron always liked the room completely blacked out – no light. It was a safety precaution the SIS trained their recruits to use to their advantage, and he told her that he had grown to prefer it. She didn't really care, so she eventually just had to memorize the layout of the room to compensate.

But… Theron wasn't the cleanest person. She tripped on his hastily discarded boots before she even reached the bed, shins knocking into the coffee table as she fought to regain her balance. A muttered curse later, she heard him rustling.

"Theron, it's me. Don't worry."

She quickly waved her hand to turn on the light above her and spotted her mostly naked boyfriend, pistol already in hand and crouched behind the bed. She just couldn't help the warm chuckle that bubbled up at the sight.

He sighed and put the blaster back in his custom bedside holster, sleepily smiling at her laugh. "You're late."

"I feel like there's a less violent way to let me know I've been up too late." Meila picked up his boots and dangled them in front of her with a grin. "I also feel like there's a better spot for these."

Theron winced when he realized what she was holding. "Ah, damn. Sorry about that." He crawled back into bed, shielding his eyes from the light. "But can you turn the light back off, please?"

She tossed the boots toward the door and waved a few fingers, willing the light switch to flip back off. "I'll be over in a few minutes after my eyes readjust again."

"Just follow the sound of my voice. _Or_ use a Jedi trick to sense my body heat or…something."

Meila slowly shuffled her way to the bed and bit her lip to keep from smiling, but her voice gave it away. "You know that's not how it works."

"I do know, what with all that fruitless training years ago." His voice betrayed a grin, too.

She quickly disrobed and tossed her robes into their dirty clothes pile. Her fingers blindly combed some of the tangles out of her hair before she finally crawled under the blanket. His arms wrapped around her almost immediately; she felt calm ripple through her muscles as soon as his skin pressed up against hers.

Theron's voice, no more than a thread of sound at this distance, breathed into her ear. "You're up really late; is anything wrong?"

As an involuntary shiver straightened her spine, the reason she was inspired to come to bed in the first place flashed to the forefront to her mind.

_Just know I'll be here waiting for you. Always._

A small smile blossomed across her lips as she thought of the perfect way to bring it up. "Oh, just catching up on my mail."

Her smile widened to a grin when his half-awake response was, "Anything important?"

Meila's arm snaked out from under the blanket and grabbed her datapad, trying to will her voice to be both coy and warm. "Just one weird one, it didn't have a subject line. Do you know anyone named Theron Shan? He's sending me the most _wonderful_ messages."

He rested his chin on her shoulder, watching as she unlocked the datapad. His voice held a new note of curiosity, maybe even amusement. "…I'm getting jealous already."

"Mmm, that's probably a good idea; he's _very_ suave when writing beautiful notes about how much he misses me and worries about me when I'm gone. I think I might be falling for him." It took all her self-control to not break down into laughter at their banter.

"What a lucky guy." She felt his lips press against her shoulder, sending an entirely too pleasant shudder down her back. "How about I _show_ you how much I missed you?"

She took a deep, meditative breath, trying to summon forth some control; he knew that spot was one of her weaknesses. Time to get a little more serious. "Theron, listen, I…am so sorry about disappearing. I had no idea what was going on, but I could sense it was important."

He scooted back and lightly pushed on her shoulder, their silent signal for her to turn around. She gladly set the datapad to the side and spun to face him, their arms and legs entangling with familiar ease in the dark.

"I know it was. There's something about you that's different, too. I'm not worried or anything; you feel a little more…calm? Relaxed. It's nice to see, to be honest. We were both getting pretty stressed out about everything. I'm just happy you're back." His thumb stroked the small of her back.

Meila slid her hands up his chest and blindly reached to cup his cheeks, pulling his head down in order to touch their foreheads together. "Thank you for the message. I love you too, Theron."

Theron's head pulled away immediately, his voice dripping with confusion. "Wait, I thought I removed that part from the note."

She couldn't help a small giggle, tucking some hair behind his ear; she could only imagine his face right now. "You did. But you didn't have to write the words for me to feel them."

"I… Oh. Uh. Maybe we should turn the lights on, so I can do this right."

He was usually very open and comfortable whenever they would discuss their feelings, but Theron sounded almost startled. Meila shook her head and tried to reassure him, hands drifting to squeeze his forearms. "No, we don't have to have the lights on. There's no wrong way to tell someone that you love them."

"I can think of a few ways." Sarcasm hung in the dark between them until he shifted away and the next thing she knew, they were both blinded when he flipped on his bedside lamp.

They sat up and rubbed their eyes; it took a few long moments to adjust to the new lighting. When she could finally see again, she gave him a tolerant but tired look. This was clearly important to him, and she could deal with some temporary blindness.

His hands reached out to grasp hers and he met her gaze with a crooked, warm smile. His truly vulnerable, gentle looks were few and far between, and Meila couldn't help but immediately feel as if her heart was going to burst. Logically, she knew that wasn't the case but it definitely felt like it.

He cleared his throat before starting, his voice steady but hesitant. "I don't know where all of this is going to go; the Alliance, the throne, the Empire, none of it. I have a feeling that we're just getting started, but I want you to know that I'm sure about one thing. You."

Theron pulled their joined hands up to his face, laying her palm across his left cheek before placing his hand over hers. His voice grew thicker as he spoke the last few words. "I'll always be with you, following you, waiting for you, whatever you need. I love you, Meila."

She leaned forward and quietly pressed her lips against his for a few long heartbeats before pulling back far enough to catch his eye. "I love you too, Theron. I promise I'll always try to make it back to you."

Her promise broke whatever restraint he had been keeping in check, as his hands immediately slid up her arms and embedded themselves in her hair, pulling her back in to offer a heated, hungry kiss. She was all too happy to respond with aplomb and quickly waved her hand behind his back to flip the lamp back off.

Another day of little sleep was worth it. It always was.


End file.
